MORE NEWS, 8-25: UK NAYSAYERS FIGHT WIND; DEALMAKING IN NEW ENERGY; PAKISTAN NEEDS NEW ENERGY; CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT SHORT CUT?

UK NAYSAYERS FIGHT WIND
Green energy hit by 'faceless Nimbys'
20 August 2009 (BBC News)

"Last month, the [UK] government announced plans to boost the green energy sector, yet within weeks Vestas UK, the UK's only manufacturer of wind turbine blades, closed its plant on the Isle of Wight…Some [Vestas] workers said the government should have rescued the plant like it saved failing banks.

"But Vestas' vice president Peter Kruse [blamed UK citizens who block wind developments with environmental and aesthetic concerns]…The Vestas decision created a dilemma for people on the Isle of Wight as there were those who opposed the siting of wind turbines on the island - projects which might have saved the jobs of the Vestas' workers."

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"The local council refused to give planning permission for a wind farm; and John Gallimore, chair of local campaign group Thwart, believed that there were other environmental arguments which deserved an airing…

"Richard Mardon, managing director of Your Energy, one of the UK's largest independent wind farm developers, believes local protest groups around the country are hampering the development of wind power…[and blamed] the English planning system, where the success rate for getting wind turbine applications approved by English councils was 20 to 50%… Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, said he was confident that "Nimbyism" could be overcome…"

The British public at large favors wind. Some simply object to having it where they can see it. It's a universal dilemma: The world's environment versus the local environment. (click to enlarge)

"Other countries in the EU have softened the impact on local communities with cash incentives…In Portugal, where 15% of power is produced by renewable energy (and they are on target for more than 30% by 2020), local municipal authorities were given a 15% stake in wind power companies and some had sold these shares at large profits, benefiting their communities.

"It is this kind of "bribe" that the UK needs to use, according to Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies To Save The Planet…But according to Mr Goodall there is another factor that is restraining the UK…[It does not] think big enough…[T]he UK could build 5,000 wind turbines in the next year which would have a significant effect on its energy supply but the political will [is] lacking…Mr Goodall said the country had lost the vision of the kind of grand engineering projects the Victorians managed…"


DEALMAKING IN NEW ENERGY
A Rare Peek at Green Energy Economics
Todd Woody, August 24, 2009 (NY Times)

"California regulators have approved contracts for more than 8,600 megawatts of renewable energy, to be generated mostly by big solar power plants for the state’s largest utilities. But the details of those deals and the emerging economics of green energy often remain shrouded in secrecy, subject to confidentiality agreements.

"…[But] when the California Public Utilities Commission gave the green light to two 25-year power purchase agreements [for 1,310 megawatts of solar electricity] between Pacific Gas & Electric and BrightSource Energy …the utilities commission also signed off on an apparently first-of-its-kind technology royalty agreement between BrightSource and PG&E."

Schematic of the Brightsource technology. (click to enlarge)

"…BrightSource will generate electricity from two of seven solar thermal power plants the company is building in the Mojave Desert, to supply PG&E with a total of 1,310 megawatts. In an unusual twist, the utility has agreed to pay BrightSource a higher electricity rate if the start-up fails to secure a Department of Energy loan guarantee to help finance the construction of the two power plants.

"The loan guarantee program is designed to promote development of renewable energy by allowing companies like BrightSource to obtain lower-cost financing for the billions of dollars needed to build large-scale solar farms…"

The Brightsource technology. (click to enlarge)

"The deal prompted an unsuccessful protest from the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, a state agency that promotes utility customers’ interests. The ratepayer advocate argued that BrightSource did not receive such favorable terms when it agreed to provide 1,300 megawatts of electricity to Southern California Edison, another state utility, using the same technology…Utility commissioners also approved an agreement between BrightSource and PG&E that calls for the start-up to pay the utility royalties based on the worldwide sales and licensing of BrightSource’s solar “power tower” technology.

"…Keely Wachs, [of BrightSource], said he could not provide any details of the royalty agreement or why it was struck due to confidentiality provisions of the deal…This is the first royalty agreement PG&E has made in connection with a power purchase agreement, according to Jennifer Zerwer, a spokeswoman for the utility. She said the utility could not disclose whether the royalty contract was tied to the electricity rates PG&E will pay BrightSource…"


PAKISTAN NEEDS NEW ENERGY
US considers funding Pakistan energy projects
Adam Entous (w/Sugita Katyal and Alex Richardson), August 17, 2009 (Reuters via Forbes)

"President Barack Obama's special envoy said…the United States was considering funding projects to upgrade Pakistan's antiquated power sector, but played down the speed at which assistance would materialise and crippling electricity shortages would end.

"Pakistan's finance minister, Shaukat Tarin, said the government would rent electricity-generating plants over the next three to five years to fill the gap until large-scale energy projects come online…[and] said Washington could help by providing financial guarantees to encourage private investment…Obama's envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, offered few details about the kinds of projects Washington would sponsor…"

Pakistan has pockets of great wind. (click to enlarge)

"Power shortages have [been worsening for 25 years and have] devastated the country's economy and undercut support for its government, a critical ally in Washington's war against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan…U.S. trade promotion agencies such as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Export-Import Bank could provide financial backing for some of the long-term projects, but doing so would require U.S. congressional authorisation.

"Holbrooke has said that recent gains by the Pakistani army against militants gave Washington "breathing room" to focus more attention on Pakistan's economic woes, chief among them the shortage of electricity…After meeting Pakistan's foreign minister… Holbrooke declared the energy sector, rather than security, his "primary focus"…The public shift in emphasis appeared aimed at boosting the standing of both Pakistan's elected leaders and the United States in a country deeply sceptical of their growing military alliance against militants…"

Pakistan has lots of sun. (click to enlarge)

"Mary Beth Goodman, Holbrooke's economic adviser, said the energy shortfalls were not only affecting the border areas but the entire country…Pakistani cities sometimes suffer outages of up to 20 hours a day. Key industries have been shuttered, sending unemployment soaring…[As a temporary quick fix] rental power plants would be used to generate up to 3,500 megawatts of electricity… Pakistan [will] not need U.S. cash assistance to run the temporary plants…

"…[The longer term goal is] to replace the rentals after three to five years with permanent, long-term hydro-electric, coal, wind and solar plants…Pakistan's current reliance on costly gas-fired plants [was described by one government official as] "totally screwed up" and financially unsustainable…"


CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT SHORT CUT?
The Other Climate Changers: Why Black Carbon and Ozone Also Matter
Alex Viets, August 20, 2009 (Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development)

"According to an essay published in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs, reducing emissions of black carbon soot and ground-level ozone would quickly make a considerable dent in the climate change problem and would also contribute to public health and protect crop yields. The Other Climate Changers: Why Black Carbon and Ozone Also Matter, is authored by Jessica Seddon Wallack, Director of the Center for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research, in Chennai, India and Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a scientist and Distinguished Professor of Climate and Atmospheric Sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego…"

(From the Biochar International Initiative - click to enlarge)

"Black carbon and ground level ozone are ideal pollutants to target to avoid passing climate tipping points: they are short-lived in the atmosphere (weeks to a few months), meaning that the benefits of reducing them could be felt almost immediately… Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) introduced a black carbon bill earlier this year, as did Congressmen Jay Inslee (D-WA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Mike Honda (D-CA). A provision on black carbon is also included in the Waxman-Markey climate bill.

"Black carbon is produced largely by diesel vehicles and the burning of biomass, including in cookstoves in developing countries like China and India. It contributes to 7 percent of child deaths worldwide that result from fatal respiratory infections. Black carbon is also responsible for almost 50 percent of warming in the Arctic as well as extensive snow and ice melt in the Himalayas. Available technology such as diesel particulate filters for vehicles and cleaner-burning biomass and solar cookstoves can significantly reduce black carbon emissions."

(From the Biochar International Initiative - click to enlarge)

"Ground level or tropospheric ozone (different than the stratospheric ozone that blocks the sun’s UV rays) is formed by “ozone precursor” gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, and other hydrocarbons. Improving the efficiency of industrial combustion processes can reduce these gases. Besides a danger to breathe, ozone lowers crop yields. A recent study reported that ozone’s damage to crop yields in 2000 resulted in an economic loss of $14-26 billion annually…

"Addressing the many dispersed sources of black carbon and ozone precursors will be an implementation challenge, but the fact that there are many co-benefits of taking action may mean addressing these substances is more politically feasible than tackling other emissions…"